Joseph was a righteous man

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness

I’m getting to the end of my study of Joseph, which I’ve really enjoyed. There are valuable things we can all learn from this man called by God to care for Jesus.

Matthew 1.19 describes Joseph as righteous or upright. The basic meaning of this word is ‘obedient to the law’ which perhaps does not sound very exciting!

But righteous and righteousness are key words for Matthew – they appear more than twenty times in this gospel, more than in the other three gospels combined. Most of the occurrences are on the lips of Jesus where he challenges received ideas of what it means to be righteous.

Sometimes Jesus refers to ‘the righteous’ meaning those who would be perceived, by others or themselves as righteous.

In Matthew 9.13 Jesus was confronted by some who did not approve of the company he was keeping. He replied, “I have come to call not the righteous but sinners”. Elsewhere, Jesus specifically states that he is not abolishing the law, but we see him prioritising people over obedience to regulations.

Twice Jesus quotes Hosea 6.6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. Hosea was challenging those people who were very busy keeping the law and performing sacrifices, but were not showing love, mercy and kindness to others around. Jesus calls for love and mercy much more than the ritual adherence represented by ‘sacrifice’ and requires his disciples’ righteousness to “exceed… that of the scribes and Pharisees” (Matthew 5.20).

Matthew shows us that Jesus’ understanding of righteousness includes obedience to the law, but that that should reflect a loving and merciful life and the kingdom of God (Matthew 6.33).

Matthew’s description of Joseph as righteous foreshadows much of this teaching in Jesus’ ministry. Joseph was righteous in seeking to meet the requirements of the law, but also, and perhaps more so, in his desire to treat Mary mercifully.

After the angelic revelation, he set aside his understanding that the law required him to divorce Mary, and went ahead with the marriage, committing to care for Mary and the child she would bear.

As foster carers, we operate in a regulated environment, but simple adherence to the requirements of the regulations does not make a good foster carer. The principal calling is for foster carers to love, welcome, and provide for the needs of children in their care.

I’m sure there are examples in everyone's life of having to act within particular rules.

A righteous person does what they know to be right because that is who they are, not simply because the regulations require it. Let’s “hunger and thirst for righteousness”, and Jesus’ promise is that we “will be filled” (Matthew 5.6).

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